


Rumors

by An Unknown Writers World (Hawkeyes_Winter_Soldier)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-08 11:49:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21475552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkeyes_Winter_Soldier/pseuds/An%20Unknown%20Writers%20World
Summary: Summary: Inspired by the Lee Brice Song Rumor, give it a listen if you’d like.“There’s a rumor going ‘round about me and you, Stirring up our little town the last week or two, Oh, tell me why we even trying to deny this feeling, I feel it and you feel it too, There’s a rumor going 'round, and 'round, and 'round, What d'you say we make it, Make it true, What d'you say we make it true? Come on over here, Let’s really give them something to talk about, baby”
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Kudos: 26





	Rumors

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Angsty AF, but a fluffy ending. Bucky’s Henley(It’s warning - fight me)

“Has Barnes checked in lately?” Rhodey asked.   
“He’s got one more stop to make before he’ll be back," Nat responded leaning against the counter.  
“He said he’ll be home in time for Tony’s party tomorrow.” You spoke up.  
Rhodey and Nat both grinned.  
“When are you going to admit you two are together?” Rhodey pushed.  
You rolled your eyes; this was probably the tenth time this week you had to defend yourself from this question. Bucky was a great friend to you and had been since you both moved into the compound. It wasn’t a secret that the two of you spent a lot of time together – sleepless nights usually resulted in you watching movies together before passing out on the couch, you’d work out together and had been on the occasional mission together even.   
“Rhodes, for the millionth time we are just friends.” You said.  
Just then your phone started to vibrate across the counter.  
“Looks like your boyfriend is calling,” Nat smirked.  
“Oh, shut up.” You replied picking up your phone.  
“You should probably take it; you can coordinate outfits for the party.” Rhodey laughed.  
You didn’t argue, you needed to tell him something anyway. Sliding the green button across the screen you answered. “Barnes, you have the worst timing.”   
He laughed on the other end of the line as you exited the kitchen. You’d be lying to yourself if you didn’t acknowledge that his laugh did something to you.  
“Sorry Doll. Nat and Rhodey again?”   
Oh, that term, every time it got to you. Stop it. You reprimanded yourself, you and Bucky could never be anything more. It’s too complicated.  
“They’re exhausting.” You replied truthfully.  
You could hear him sigh heavily. “What’s up, Buck?”   
“I’m gonna be a bit later than I had planned.”   
Your heart sunk; you may not have been together, but Bucky usually made Tony’s ridiculous parties more bearable. “Oh, okay. When will you be back?”   
“I’m don’t know.”   
You heard shuffling in the background before Shuri called his name.  
“Are you in Wakanda right now?” You asked.  
“Yes, listen I gotta go.”  
You felted defeated but didn’t know why, “Ok, be safe.”  
“I’ll see you soon,” Bucky replied.  
You were frustrated, why would he be in Wakanda? Clearly, Nat or Steve knew, she knew that he was making an extra stop before he came home. You didn’t know, but in all fairness, you never asked where he was going, just when he’d be home. You looked at the clock and realized it was only eight pm, you really just wanted to sleep off this frustration and confusion, but it was too early to go to bed. Instead, you head to your room to change and go for a workout.  
Most of the team chose to work out in the morning, some of them getting up in the wee hours to do so. You were pretty confident that the gym would be empty as you made your way down to it. Tony was smart when he designed the place; at the top of the stairs were large heavy doors limiting sound and at the bottom of the stairs were double glass doors that were soundproof. Stopping inside the door you turned on the stereo system and quickly turned on your Do Not Disturb and connected your own Spotify playlist.   
Taking the time to stretch out you tried to think about all the reasons that Bucky might be with Shuri- something could be wrong with his arm, maybe it needed to be recalibrated, maybe she had an upgrade for it. But it didn’t take much for your thoughts to wander into a dark place, what if something was going on with his programming? Did something trigger him? You tried to shake that last thought.  
You needed to clear your mind, the best way to do that was to push yourself. Making your way to the heavy back you wrapped your hands before pulling on the beautiful black and red gloves that Nat had gotten you for your birthday. Taking a deep breath and you centered yourself and went at the bag.   
Left…  
Right…  
Left, left…  
Right…  
Left…  
Right, right…  
Left...  
Breath…  
Each hit brought you a clearer mind.   
You went another round.   
“(Y/N),” Steve called out grabbing your attention.  
You stopped your task and looked at him.  
“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt. Bucky called me; he was worried. Said your phone was going straight to voicemail.” He folded his arms leaning against the post that the bag was attached to.   
“I’m fine.” You replied harshly.  
“Clearly.” He retorted.  
You hadn’t spent more than twenty minutes alone in the gym, you were far from fine. A hundred things ran through your mind. Frustrated with the fact you’d been interrupted you pulled off the gloves, unwrapping your hands as Cap watched you.  
“Wanna talk about it?” He asked.  
You shook your head, “There’s nothing to talk about.”   
You were never one to admit fear, it was a sign of weakness. If you let anyone know you were worried about the little things with Bucky, you’d really never hear the end of the accusations.   
“Alright, well if you don’t want to talk how about you listen instead.”  
You glared at him; he was taking that fatherly tone you hated so much.  
“Bucky had an issue on the mission. It’s nothing serious, but he wanted to be sure. He was sent to recover some intel; little did we know that it was being held in an old Hydra facility.”  
A gasp betrayed you.  
“It’s okay,” Steve urged, “Nothing happened, the guards that were still there didn’t seem to know who he was.”  
You turned to hang up the gloves and wraps trying to calm yourself again, tears threatening to betray you. Bucky asked if you wanted to come on the mission, but you refused afraid it’d cause more questions.   
“He went to Wakanda to check in with Shuri, he wanted to test his programming in a controlled environment.” Steve shook his head, “He’s afraid it’ll come back. If he doesn’t continue to test it and resist it, he’s afraid if someone tries to control him with it, they’ll be able to.” Steve took a step towards you, “He’s afraid of hurting you, he loves you. He won’t admit it to me, but it’s pretty obvious.”  
“Why are you telling me this, Steve?” You tried to shut down your emotions.   
He drug his hand down his face, “I know everyone pushes you guys, they make jokes about the two of you together. I guess,” He hesitated, shaking his head again, “I guess I just want you to know that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if it were true. Clearly you make each other happy, and I think in some ways it keeps him coming back. It’s like he knows someone is waiting for him. He’s less reckless.”  
You didn’t respond, you weren’t even sure how to respond. Steve just explained all the reasons you were afraid, you were afraid to be close to him for those exact reasons. This line of work is dangerous, especially if you have people that you care about. Natasha had once said ‘staying together is more important than how we stay together’. It was an accurate statement, if keeping the team whole meant suppressing your feelings for Bucky, you would; and if Steve’s statement was accurate it meant you weren’t the only one in this boat.   
“I’ll let Bucky know you’re okay,” Steve said as he walked away.  
He disappeared on the other side of the glass leaving you alone with your thoughts. You had tuned out the music playing, throughout your work out it was nothing but noise, but now the song playing over the speaker resonated with you. Things were fine when Bucky left for his mission, you had your feelings and he had his; they weren’t talked about, they didn’t need to be.   
Overwhelmed with emotions you gave up on the gym. Unplugging your phone you beelined for your suite, a hot shower and bed would help. You hoped. Climbing through the house you were careful to not draw attention to yourself; a movie was playing in the living room, it was probably Nat and Rhodey, with the time of night Steve had probably gone to his own room. Sam, Wanda, and Vision were out on their own mission, so you didn’t have to worry about them, you knew they’d be back tomorrow for the party. Why did Tony need to have another stupid party anyway?  
Passing Steve’s room in the hall you saw the light on under the door, you wondered if he stayed up worrying about Bucky on nights like this. It was still debatable for you if being put in this hall with just Bucky and Steve was a blessing or a curse for you. Running into Bucky on sleepless nights it what got you into this mess of feelings. You quickly showered, the hot water seemed to relax your muscles but did nothing for clearing your mind. Standing in front of your dresser you pulled on your usual night attire boy shorts and a tank top, you towel dried your hair and climbed into bed.   
It didn’t take long for you know it was going to be a long night, sitting up and laying down, nothing felt right. On your left side and your right, you even tried laying on the other side of the bed, nothing was comfortable enough to shut your brain off. This was the point where you would normally get out of bed and head to the lounge room in your hall to watch a movie and hope that Bucky would join you. That would be pointless tonight, you would just stare at the tv and know he wasn’t coming out; you wouldn’t sit next to him and feel his warmth or breath in the beautiful scent that could only be described as Bucky.   
Grunting in frustration you got up, you had an idea. You opened your door quietly looking to make sure the light was no longer come from under Steve’s. Leaving your door open you snuck into Bucky’s, carefully closed it to make sure you didn’t accidentally wake Steve. You turned on the bedside lamp and hurried to his closet where you knew you’d find your favorite shirt of his – the red long sleeve Henley.   
It smelled just like him, that smell you knew so well from the couch naps. You weren’t cold before, but this was warm, the kind of warm feeling you got when you ate fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookies, or that perfect internal warmth from chicken noodle soup when you were ill. You closed your eyes breathing it in, it wasn’t exactly clearing your mind, but it made you think about the good things with Bucky and less about your worries.   
Not quite ready to go back to your own room you curled up on his bed, laying on the side you knew he usually inhabited. You were fully engulfed by the most comforting scent you’d ever found, and it was lulling you to sleep, rapidly.  
*****  
You woke to a dark room and a soft blanket covering you, but you didn’t remember ever turning off the lamp and you surely didn’t remember grabbing a blanket. You rolled over to find Bucky asleep in the bed next to you. Your emotions were torn, you knew you should feel embarrassed by your actions, but you were happy to see him. So happy you hadn’t realized the tears that welled up and had started to brim over. Against your better judgment you moved over, laying your head on his chest, he hummed in your ear pulling you closer. You weren’t sure if it was reflex or if he was awake. Then you felt the gentle kiss to the top of your head.  
“I didn’t mean to wake you.” You whispered.  
“Is okay.” He whispered back. “I couldn’t wake you when I came in, you looked so beautiful, I think you look better in that shirt than I do.”  
You smiled, “I thought you weren’t coming home for a while.”  
“Wasn’t, but Steve said you were pretty upset.”  
You exhaled heavily, Steve. He was pretty good at butting into things he didn’t need to.  
“It’s not his fault,” Bucky reassured me. “I asked him why you weren’t answering. He didn’t know for sure, but he assumed about what things might be bothering you.”  
“Did he tell you about the conversation he tried to have?” You asked pulling back to look at him.  
The sun beginning to rise softly illuminating the room.  
“Not all the details, just that you weren’t talking so he talked at you.”  
You nodded, leaving the conversation at that. If Steve didn’t tell him about it, you didn’t need to. Laying your head back against his chest you found yourself thinking about the things Steve said. Neither of you spoke again, he pulled you tight to his side and your fingers trace the outline of his stomach muscles as you laid there.   
How could something that felt so right be so wrong? The two of you fit together in all things, you weren’t sure you wanted to run from it anymore. Maybe, subconsciously you already knew that hence why you ended up in his bed tonight. Maybe Steve was right, it wouldn’t be so bad if the two of you got together.  
“(Y/N)” Bucky said softly.  
“Yeah, Buck?”  
He spoke as if he had read your mind, “I don’t want to run from this anymore.”   
You didn’t speak, he reached over and flipped the switch on the side of the table to turn on the lamp. Every fiber in your being screamed, this is what you wanted, wasn’t it? You pulled away from his chest to look at him.  
“Everyone already believes were together, even Steve thinks we’re lying to him.” He looked down at you, his arm still loosely wrapped around your back. “We keep trying to deny what we both clearly feel. All we’re doing at this point is hurting ourselves and each other.”  
You smiled at him knowing he was right.  
“What d’you say, doll? We can keep telling them it’s a lie, or we can tell them it’s true.”  
That same warm feeling you felt in your chest when you fell asleep, it was coming back. You couldn’t help the smile that came. You leaned up and kissed him, it was cheesy to say but it was true. It felt like fireworks going off around you, it was nothing but pure magic as he kissed you back. When you felt like you couldn’t breathe you broke the kiss.   
He kissed your forehead, “I’m gonna take that as a yes.”  
You both laughed softly.  
Sitting up more you kissed him chastely on the lips and nodded, “Yes, it's definitely a yes.”   
Bucky smiled down at you, the kind that could melt even the strongest of metals. He kissed you again, it was a feeling you weren't sure you'd ever get used to.  
“Which one do you think we should tell first?” He asked.  
You smirked, an idea coming to mind, “All of them at the same time.”  
He gave you a questioning look.  
“Let’s give them something to talk about at the party.” You laughed thinking about Rhodey’s comment. “Matching outfits and all.”   
He kissed you again. “Whatever you want, doll."


End file.
